Big Fat Gap (Back Room)

When: Mon., Dec. 21, 8 p.m. 2015

After weeks of forced post-Thanksgiving group cheer comes the annual Big Fat Gap holiday homecoming, a Christmas party you’ll actually enjoy. (It’s a literal take on “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” too, as the bluegrass band’s name comes from one of North Carolina’s last remaining virgin forests.) The homecoming’s more-is-more, who’s who approach seems to grow each year, with guest appearances from an extensive pickin’ network. —Karlie Justus Marlowe